From left: 66 East 79th Street, J. Christopher Flowers and the interior of the 14th floor unit

The ex-wife of billionaire private equity giant and avid real estate speculator J. Christopher Flowers sold her tony Upper East Side co-op to another private equity exec and his wife for $16 million — a steep loss over the couple’s purchase of the home, according to records filed with the city today. [more]

Having recently forked out $20 million for a second floor-unit at 640 Park Avenue, billionaire private equity mogul J. Christopher Flowers may be trying to balance his books. Flowers, who founded J.C. Flowers & Co., has listed his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom spread at 66 East 79th Street for $18 million, according to Streeteasy.com. The price is $1 million less than what Flowers paid for the property in 2006. The unit is listed by Sami Hassoumi of Brown Harris Stevens, who was not immediately available for comment. [more]

In 2009, it was reported that Flowers, who had already put more than $4 million worth of renovations into the 114-year-old, 50-foot-wide mansion, wanted around $50 million for the home. Flowers bought the home from banking heir Jacqui Safra, who used to produce Woody Allen movies. [Post, 1st item]

J. Christopher Flowers, the private equity magnate who, in 2006, logged the city’s priciest residential transaction ever with his $53 million purchase of the Harkness Mansion at 4 East 75th Street, has gotten more serious in his search for buyers for the townhouse in the wake of a separation from his wife, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last year, it was reported that Flowers, who has already put more than $4 million worth of renovations into the 114-year-old, 50-foot-wide mansion, wants around $50 million for the home. But he may be unlikely to get even that, sources now say. … [more]

From the October issue: The ranks of Manhattan’s super-high-end listings may have shrunk overthe past year, but the city still boasts a number of properties withsales prices north of $30 million. It’s no surprise that few of these mega-listings have traded in thelast year, with the global financial crisis paralyzing potentialbuyers. But now, very high-end listings are beginning to generateinterest again, albeit at smaller price tags. (Case in point: Madonna’snew $32.5 million Upper East Side townhouse, originally listed for $42million in October of 2008). This month, The Real Deal looked at five of the city’spriciest listings — some new, others market fixtures — along withother noteworthy properties generating buzz this fall.